Five local charities have received a share of £15,000, thanks to residents who are members of the council’s recycling reward scheme.

London Green Points rewards members with points for recycling more and wasting less.

Members can also vote for their favourite charity from a choice of five local charities that are supported by the scheme, and every six months the area within Bexley that has earned the most points will win the largest share of donations for the charity they voted for collectively.

Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice were voted the favourite charity by the ‘Christchurch community’.

The members in this area earned the highest amount of green points and chose the hospice to receive the top prize of £7,000.

Bexley Mooring Project received £4,000, Friends of the Shuttle received £2,000 and in fourth and fifth place, Trees for Cities and Evergreen Bexley each received £1,000.

Cllr Peter Craske, cabinet member for community safety, environment and leisure, said: “We are really grateful to the residents of Bexley for their efforts to reduce waste and recycle more.

“The London Green Points scheme has shown that Bexley residents really care about improving their local environment and contributing to a greener borough by reducing their waste.

“Thanks to their actions we have maintained our position as London’s flagship borough for waste and recycling.”

Kate Heaps, chief executive at Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice, said: “The hospice needs to raise £8 million every year to support local communities in Greenwich and Bexley, so being a charity partner of the London Green Points scheme is a really important stream of income for us. “These donations allow us to make sure we can continue to provide free care to people in the local community when they need it most.

“So thank you very much to everyone who voted for us.”

The scheme launched in September 2011, and has since rolled out to around 95,000 properties with over 13,000 residents signed up across the borough.

It has also been shortlisted as a finalist in the prestigious LGC Awards for its work in reducing fly tipping, supporting the local economy and improving recycling rates in some of the Borough’s hardest to reach areas.